Presurgery treatment combo more effective for women with triple-negative breast cancer.

gery, cancer had been eliminated from the breast in 42 percent of these patients and from both the breast and lymph nodes in 39 percent. These proportions increased to 50 percent and 43 percent, respectively, for the 110 patients who were randomly assigned to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus bevacizumab; 53 percent and 49 percent, respectively, for the 113 patients who were randomly assigned to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus carboplatin; and 67 percent and 60 percent, respectively, for the 112 patients who were randomly assigned to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus carboplatin and bevacizumab. The increases in the pathologic complete response rates in the breast and in the breast and lymph nodes observed among patients randomly assigned to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus carboplatin were statistically significant. Among patients randomly assigned to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus bevacizumab, only the increase in the pathologic complete response rate in the breast met the study’s criteria for significance. “Patients who were treated with carboplatin had more problems with low blood counts and were more likely to miss doses of chemotherapy or to have their chemotherapy treatments delayed or the doses of the chemotherapy drugs reduced compared with patients who did not receive carboplatin,” said Dr. Sikov. “In addition, about 10 percent of patients who were treated with bevacizumab developed high blood pressure and more of these patients had problems with blood clots, bleeding, and infections.” This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Genentech, and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. v W & I Research News